Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 321: Lively

Dinner was served earlier than usual tonight. It was a celebration of the return of the mansion’s lord. The guards around the premise were still the same bunch that’d left Faustian with Angelina six years ago. It could be said that a total of two hundred soldiers had spent their peak years here in Aomar.

When Locke and Angelina had arrived in Botania one year ago, the Faustian nobles that came to Princeton for their five-year study had returned to the kingdom. Duke Gage, was an exception that remained in the city for he was personally appointed by the king to care for Angelina. He stayed on Sachiel Street and was renting a small courtyard not far away. There was no way he would return to Faustian without the princess.

Fortunately, there was a slight drop in property prices over the last two years, which allowed the young duke to afford a courtyard on Sachiel Street. Gage could’ve chosen to remain in the princess’ mansion but apart from the royal guards, the people living there were servants and Locke’s women. He figured it was rather inappropriate for him to live with them.

Duke Gage was always a good judge of character. He’d thought highly of Locke since they’d just left Faustian. For one, Locke was definitely special. The man had managed to charm the talented Faustian princess and if he wasn’t a seasoned romancer, he was certainly genuinely capable.josei

Indeed, everything happening now was a testament to Gage’s judgement. Locke had improved exponentially over four years; he’d climbed all the way to become a high-rank Knecht from the bottom. Locke had used four years to complete the entire life journey of a regular knight. The youngest high-rank Knecht in Faustian was thirty years old and he was a record-breaker.

Angelina and Locke’s return had reached Gage’s ears through a quick-witted young royal guard. The princess’ escort consisted of both the secret and royal guards. While Gage reserved no authority over the secret guards, he had many subordinates recruited in the royal guard troupe. Plus, Gage was old friends with Aslan, the commander of the royal guards.

The dining hall hadn’t been this vibrant in a while. Apart from Locke and Angelina, Lia, Glace, Suzzane and Kristin were present at the table. They were enjoying a warm meal as a family and Gage was invited to the dinner after meeting Angelina upon her arrival.

Kristin was the most excited of them all. When a royal guard had dropped her word of Locke’s return at her institute, she’d quickly abandoned her magic experiment despite her mentor’s obvious displeasure. Currently, Kristin was attending the same institute as Glace, Suzzane and the others. Though it wasn’t as excellent as the Imperial Academy, the quality of its education wasn’t too shabby.

Typically, students at her institute would do their best to avoid offending the mentors. It became clear that Kristin had placed Locke at a higher priority over trying to get on the good side of her instructors. However, she did have bragging rights for she was a dual user of magic and impetus. Locke’s initial decision to have Kristin learn impetus and magic simultaneously had unknowingly unleashed the young girl’s full potential.

Since she’d grown up smothered by her aunt Glace, it was almost impossible for her to endure tough training or boring magic experiments. The unorthodox combination of impetus and magic practises had instead provided a good balance suited for her attention span.

Her current impetus was only as strong as a low-rank Knecht while her mana reserves were that of a beginner Lehrling. Though she wasn’t the best at both, it was considered amazing since she’d only picked it up two years ago. As a comparison, Locke too had only become a low-rank Knecht after a full year of impetus cultivation.

The simultaneous pursuit of magic and impetus was odd but it had made her the star of the institute. Many mentors were interested in taking her in as a pupil but the Magister that’d received her was beginning to doubt everything.

Kristin was truly compatible with her element but it was impossible to have the young girl settle down for meditation. If she’d followed her mentor’s regime strictly, she would’ve become a low-rank Lehrling already. Her inability to work on her mental abilities was the main key to her stalemate.

She wasn’t embarrassed about skipping classes either. Kristin raced straight to Locke’s side upon arriving home, immediately attacking him with a barrage of questions. It felt almost as if she was desperate to find out where and what Locke had been doing in the past year. Time sure flew. Locke couldn’t help but marvel at how much Kristin had grown. She was only as tall as his waist back then. But of course, it was physically impossible for Kristin to grow that much in a year. The separation had merely amplified changes and the sense of bizarre unfamiliarity in the air was only natural.

Locke’s concern and Kristin’s bubbly personality eventually burst the bubble and kept the conversation on the dining table going. The two were even whispering to each other at the other end of the table. Among his lovers, there was one particular woman that Locke couldn’t look away from: Suzzane.

Suzzane was positively radiant tonight. She’d grown more charming than when he’d brought her away from Shalor. The maroon dress hugging her body had accentuated lovely curves. If Kristin hadn’t plastered herself to his side and Gage wasn’t in the hall, Locke would’ve lunged forward to get a taste of her soft warmth.

In Locke’s absence, Suzzane had channelled the funds he left into starting a few businesses around Princeton. While Locke had given her plenty to start a business, it wasn’t enough to afford a shop lot along the glamorous Sachiel Street. Most of her establishments were in the east of Princeton City, where most of her clients were regular people. She’d started two jewellery shops, one antique store, a hotel and a trading house. Billie’s family had been kind enough to guide her through it.

After hearing it from Suzzane, Locke began to ponder an appropriate time to visit Billie to express his gratitude personally. At the thought of the pretty caster with green locks, Locke couldn’t help the faint smile forming on his lips.